


of dragons and mirrors

by LocketShoru



Category: Saint Seiya, 聖闘士星矢: 冥王神話 | Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Arranged Marriage, Demisexual!Albafica, Dragons, Explicit Consent, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Minos’ POV, Oneshot, also Pisces Aconita makes an unnamed cameo, mild homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:13:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23363752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LocketShoru/pseuds/LocketShoru
Summary: Minos’ parents are really tired of their middle son running off with commoner men, so they ask nearby Abyssia, a dragon-riding kingdom, for a marriage alliance. Unfortunately, Abyssia doesn’t have the same views on how relationships work, and sends over Crown Prince Albafica. Hijinks ensue.
Relationships: Griffon Minos/Pisces Albafica
Comments: 6
Kudos: 19





	of dragons and mirrors

**Author's Note:**

> Homophobia warning for Minos’ parents being like “stop running off with poor men” as well as “they sent us a PRINCE???” so it’s like, half classism half homophobia. Rhada gets bonus points for being a supportive, if jealous, brother.  
> This was based off [this](%E2%80%9C) prompt from tumblr. It had to be written. It just had to be. Also, the classgem magic system is the one I use for AdventureQuest Worlds, of which my fic just hasn’t made it to Ao3 yet. It’s fully developed if anyone’s wondering. Minos, by the actual rules, is an electromage / electromancer. :D

“Minos, this isn’t acceptable.” His father’s voice was gentle, concerned, all the good things, and he wasn’t being punished or facing consequences for his actions, but he was still getting the lecture. “You can’t be sneaking out of the castle and pursuing such relationships with commoners. Especially not commoner men.”

He sighed, fidgeting with the hem of his vest. He wanted to tune him out, but he had been trained to listen and to read between the lines enough that there was no way around it. He was just going to have to hear him out. “Father-”

“No, Minos. We can’t keep letting you do this, and you seem to have no intention on stopping. This has gone on for more than long enough. We need to do something to ensure you understand that you can’t do this.” He eyed his father, not taking his gaze off of him even as his mother took an open envelope from the nearest servant. The servant was stone-faced and moving like an earth elemental, and yet somehow still more mechanical.

His mother shuffled her skirts just a little, just enough to set them rustling. “We sent a request to Abyssia, across the sea, asking for their agreement in an alliance.”

He paused, thinking the sentence over. “I know, Mother. We sent that almost two months’ hence.” Why bring that up, now? That had already been handled.

“We have also been in correspondence with their rulers over the past two months, yes,” she continued, as if he hadn’t spoken. Queens were very good at ignoring their subjects’ wishes. “We requested a marriage alliance, as you are now of age and as of your recent actions, this seems as though the best solution to your… adventures. They have agreed to send us one of the King’s daughters to meet you and begin the courting process.”

His heart dropped into his stomach as a heavy, weighted stone. It almost made him sick to his stomach. An engagement? To a girl? There were _reasons_ he’d enjoyed his freedom out with the sailors and the blacksmiths’ sons. Not all of them were sexual in nature, and he couldn’t imagine even so much as wanting to touch a girl for more than a simple, political dance. 

He found his voice, though he wasn’t sure what he was going to say before he said it. “Rhadamanthys isn’t engaged, why couldn’t he have-”

His father cut him off. “Rhadamanthys is the crown prince, and we have not found a lady of suitable standing and riches that we could see our kingdom handed to. We stand to gain from this alliance through the dowry alone, and they could not turn this against us. That, and you might actually stop wandering off with commoner men if your lady wife would take offense and threaten war. I am sure you’ll come to see the wisdom in this.

He took a deep breath, swallowing his anger. A fight here wouldn’t help him whatsoever. “When will-” He almost choked on the words, took a breath to clear his throat, and continued steadier. “When will this princess of Abyssia arrive?”

His mother smiled, and he debated the pros and cons of running away from home. “In about two hours. You should make yourself presentable, Minos. Run along now, and then we shall see what kind of betrothed they have offered us.”

He did the only thing that he might have considered something other than repulsive, which also happened to be the correct action to take. He fled.

Just under two hours later saw him standing as still as he could on the throne room’s dais, a few steps away from his father’s throne. He’d brushed and braided his hair according to the proper style for meeting visiting royalty, he’d put on his best crown and the tailored suit that went with it, cape folded neatly against his shoulders. And he waited, despair tight in his stomach. The doors opened, not a moment later, as the embassy of Abyssia marched on through.

Somehow, impossibly, there wasn’t a girl in sight. Abyssia was famed for that every citizen owned a dragon: some big, some small, all of different types, that appeared when they were seven years old on the dot. It was some magic spell or other, brought on by their resident gods. His kingdom, on the other hand, had no such luck. If dragons were seen, it was usually because they were eating people.

There were Abyssian soldiers to either side, a good half-dozen, all mounted upon horse-sized dragons of varying types. Between them were three nobles: two who were dressed in white, with pale gold dragons stalking their sides. And in the middle was a young man just his age, with sweeping, sky-blue hair, dark eyes, and a patchy beard of hair just growing in.

He took one look at him, at the crown of golden flowers set atop his head, and that was it, he was lost. There was no way he could resist that face, jaw calmly set and chiseled, the hair that looked so well-taken care of, how prim and regal he looked without coming off at all as snooty. His father paused, but dipped his head all the same.

“Welcome to Althem,” he said grandly, sweeping his arms a little wide in the gesture. The angel of a prince in front of him smiled, dipping into a half-bow. He kept one hand on the hilt of his sword and the other on his dragon’s head, but oh Mercy, he was every bit exquisite. 

“I am Crown Prince Albafica of Abyssia, Duke to the Duchy of Weeping Roses,” the prince said, and his voice was masculine but soft, sweet but still loud enough to almost echo across the room. Minos loved it at once. “My parents sent my embassy and I to answer your request for an alliance, Sire. I presume my ah… betrothed is here, as well? I would like to meet him, if that is permissible to you.”

Minos’ heart stopped in his chest. No _way_. Why would they send a prince? He was sure that it was in fact, the greatest accident that had ever happened, and if he was really supposed to be engaged to this angel of a prince, well. This had turned from the worst day of his life into the best, all in just a few hours.

His father seemed to be less quick on the uptake. Thankfully, Rhadamanthys strode forward a pace, faster to fix the situation. “That can be arranged,” he answered calmly, his voice deep and regal and with only the slightest tremor of panic. At least he was rather unflappable. “However, I am not entirely certain… Should your parents not have sent one of your sisters? As far as we are aware, we agreed on a marriage alliance with Abyssia for my younger brother.”

Prince Albafica - how the name already all but begged to fall from his lips, a treasure of a thing - nodded, eyebrows narrowing in slight confusion. “Yes, the fine Prince Minos.” Hearing his own name fall from the voice of such a charming young man was the greatest hymn to the heavens that he could ever have dreamed. Yes, he could accept an engagement with him, he was absolutely certain. “We did receive confirmation at the docks that your younger brother preferred men, and it would be a disastrous marriage if it were any of my sisters. So thus, here I am.”

He blinked, sure he misheard him. The thought that Abyssia had already expected him to perhaps prefer men was kind of a shock, and he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. The fact that they had offered a boy - and the crown prince, nonetheless! - for the marriage was certainly the best thing of all. He clenched his hands tight behind his back, forcing his expression to stay neutral. He probably still looked ready to drop on the spot and swoon, but ah, professionalism prevented wars and saved alliances, and surely his manners might save him now.

Rhadamanthys dipped his head. “Then with that cleared up, I am sure we may continue with the negotiations in hopes of a prosperous alliance for both of our kingdoms. My father’s seneschal can show your embassy to their rooms, and when you are ready, we will commence an afternoon tea celebration. I am certain so far that my brother will be pleased.”

Prince Albafica gave a curt nod in response. “Your hospitality is greatly appreciated,” he answered, and their seneschal stepped forward to help them and lead them out. Rhadamanthys held still until they had left the room and the doors were shut, before spinning around on the dais.

“Minos-what-the- _fuck_ -did-you-do-tell-me-or-I-will-skin-your-ass,” he hissed, golden eyes alight with the lightning magic in his blood. Minos held still for a moment, before giving in and all but falling to the floor, settling into a comfortable, cross-legged position.

“He’s _perfect_ ,” he announced. “Here I thought I was going to get marched to my execution, but this? This? I might never be king, and I don’t care, because I feel like one. You get the kingdom all to yourself, I’ll never try to take it from you or from your kids. _I_ get the cute boy, and did you see him? He’s an angel-”

“Shut up and tell me what you did to make this happen.” Rhadamanthys swept forward, kneeling at the last moment until they were nose-to-nose, less than an inch away from each other. “I don’t think this is what our parents wanted, and I want to know how they knew. If they keep such close personal tabs on _you_ , what else do they know? This could start a war. That’s a huge flaw in our security, Minos!”

He shrugged. “I guess so,” he answered. “Prince Albafica said they heard it at the docks, and I know most of the sailors. Someone probably made a jabbing remark about me. I didn’t see a girl with them, but for all I know they’ve got a princess there, too.” He sighed, settling his chin on his palm, elbow resting on his knee. It would be about an hour to ensure they were all settled in before the afternoon tea. An hour, and he would get to meet him for real, and see what kind of thoughts passed through his mind, and if they were as beautiful as he was. And of course, get to know his dragon, because it really did seem as though the dragon was going to go everywhere that he did.

He could almost feel Rhadamanthys’ jealousy hidden under his all-too-real concern. His older brother loved dragons almost as much as their kingdom, and here he was the one getting engaged to a dragonrider prince, from a kingdom of all dragonriders. Rhadamanthys glowered. “There’s no way to refute this, so I suppose you win. Still, it’ll keep you off the streets, won’t it?”

His father shook his head, growing visibly irritated. “This isn’t something we can argue, no. But Minos, if you do not find a way to break the engagement without starting a war, I will personally ensure that you will never be in the line of succession.”

He paused. How much was he all right with being vicious? How much was he willing to go against his own family? On one hand, Prince Albafica was the crown prince, next in line to the throne of Abyssia. He’d be consort over there, if nothing else, and if his betrothed’s parents stepped down, he would help rule there. On the other hand, all he knew about him was that he owned a dragon and was quite possibly the most beautiful boy he’d ever seen. He lifted his chin, looking his father in the eye. “Then we shall see if his personality gleams as much as the scales on his dragon, and if you think he might yet be a good match for me,” he answered, as bravely as he could muster.

He settled in his seat beside Rhadamanthys, his leg nervously bouncing, drumming against the rug of the flooring. Prince Albafica would be sitting beside him, Aiacos on his parents’ other side. He’d hissed to him in passing on the way that his job was to look perfect in every way and note where both of them messed up eating the simplest of things. Good, young Aiacos, who still believed love was the answer to everything.

On one hand, he wanted to believe it, too. On the other, his time with the commoners down at the docks said that sometimes, the only love you could find was over the open sea, away from your wife and the children you never wanted, with a rival pointing a rifle at your face. He hoped he would find something more. Oh Mercy, he hoped.

Albafica swept into the room, his clothes changed but no less formal. He’d left his sword in his room, but his dragon flanked one side. They had provided a large selection of fancy pillows for the dragons to settle on, which according to Albafica’s steward, was the best way to handle it. Sure enough, his dragon found a royal-blue pillow and settled down. Albafica himself paused at the door, listening to the butler for just a moment, before smiling gently at him and heading towards his spot beside Minos. His heart gave a twinge of envy - he wanted that smile all for himself.

He rose from his seat, and bent double to give him the deepest, most formal bow he could. It was a bow usually reserved only for visiting kings, and he wanted his father to see him do it. He rose again, chin held high, and smiled his best smile. “Wonderful to meet you at last, Highness.”

Albafica paused, and returned the bow, just as deep, mirroring him exactly. “To you as well. Might I have your name?” His dark eyes - were they blue? - gave him the quiet once-over that he’d learned from the commoners, admiring his appearance. He hoped it was enough.

“Ah, I forget myself,” he murmured, attempting to look demure. “I am Prince Minos, secondborn to Althem, Archduke to the Duchies of Windborne Lightning and Southern Stars. A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.”

Albafica blinked in evident surprise, and smiled that gentle smile. Minos’ heart jumped into his throat, pounding a rhythm of excitement. He could certainly do with seeing that smile more. “Yours as well. Please, call me Albafica. A pleasure to be here.” He gestured at his dragon, who seemed to be settling down just fine in their pillows. “This is Jabberwock, as well. He doesn’t bite.”

Minos smiled, gesturing to their seats. “From the story of Alice?” he asked. Albafica reached out to pull out his chair for him, and he sat down, sure his cheeks were already reddening. There wasn’t much more Albafica could do to flatter him.

He nodded, settling down himself. “Of course. It only seemed right at the time, and Jabberwock has no issues parading around like a monster, so long as he also gets to hold a sword in his mouth.”

Minos laughed, raising the back of his hand to cover his smile. Oh, this was going to be excellent. The servants set out the food, pulling back the covers for the tea. They had a wide selection of teas, all locally-made for the occasion. They often served foreign teas, but this meant showing off the pride produce and blends of Althem, and they weren’t going to give him anything less than their best. 

Albafica took his tea with a dusting of sugar and cream, but his form was impeccably noble. Minos took his with a frankly alarming amount of cream and no sugar, taking a sip of his favourite blend. He reached out with his legs, ever so slightly, unti the tips of his boots were touching the tips of Albafica’s. His betrothed eyed him with a tilt of his head and a knowing glint in those dark eyes. So that was how they were going to play it: inching around every rule to play the game better than anyone could have expected.

He was enamoured already. He set down his teacup, reaching for a pastry off the nearest plate. “I have to know, for I will admit I know little about Abyssia’s culture, so you will have to tell me all about it. Does everyone get a dragon? Your Jabberwock is beautiful, and we don’t get much in the way of dragons in our fair kingdom.”

Albafica brightened, taking a pastry from the same plate. He was almost obviously trying out the foods that Minos was choosing, as if trying to learn his tastes and preferences just through the food. This was a subject he knew a lot about, and he took a bite before responding. “It’s a blessing that was set upon us centuries ago. Every child at the age of seven finds a dragon within fifteen feet of them on their birthday. Our dragons live as long as we do, and their magical associations usually also reflect in our personalities. Despite his colouring, Jabberwock is a flower dragon. He enjoys terrorizing the gardens, but I promise you, he doesn’t dig them up.”

He winked, and Minos blushed a little, almost dropping the pastry. He was aware most of the table was eyeing them around their own snacks and teacups, watching how well they got along, wondering how likely it was that they’d hate each other on the spot and start a war simply from their inability to stand one another.

“Even if he did dig in the gardens, I’d let him,” he answered, returning his wink with a smile. “He’s gorgeous. Most of the dragons we do get are of the violent sort, I won’t deny it is wondrous to see that there is more to such graceful creatures.”

Jabberwock lifted his head, as if he were aware that Minos was talking about him. He snorted a little in his direction, smoke falling from his nostrils, before settling down again. Albafica laughed a moment, shaking his head. “He’ll want to meet you later, too, don’t you worry. I wouldn’t recommend wearing your best clothes, though. His hello usually means he’s going to bowl you over and sit on you.”

“You must spend a lot of time laying on the floor,” he remarked, sipping his tea. Roughhousing with a dragon did sound a little scary, but if Albafica wasn’t concerned, and everyone had a dragon, it probably didn’t end up in a high death toll.

“More than most other royalty think I should, yes. But it’s worth it, I feed him cookies neither of us should actually be allowed and in exchange, he does have wings that he lends to me, and the skies are ours.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rhadamanthys’ stare turned into a faint glower of envy. Oh, it was clearly going to be needling him for a while, if not forever. He smiled at Albafica brightly. “I think that’ll be wonderful to learn,” he said, and Albafica smiled back. 

“What about Althem? I know that your citizens are all magi, of sorts, but I admit I know as much of your kingdom as you do of mine.” Albafica’s smile turned a little awkward, as though admitting his ignorance wasn’t ideal. He raised a hand and lightning shot up at the gesture, the crackling particles dancing across his fingertips.

“We make what’s called classgems from the magic we naturally produce. They can hone and tune our natural magic into specific forms that we can use for whatever we need, like a stained-glass window taking sunlight into a rainbow. All sorts of magic, made from the same energy that we can breathe in the ground.” It wasn’t exactly chaste, but he reached up to unbutton his cravat just a little anyway, spreading his collar just enough so Albafica could see the faceted, multicoloured jewel tied in a choker to his Adam’s apple.

Albafica nodded, studying it for a moment, but he could still see the faint blush on his cheekbones. He redid the buttons, smiling. “I am a sky-sorcerer, myself, but I do have a few other classgems at my disposal if I need them. It’s a means of skill, to be able to use more than one. Not at once, mind you, that tends to spell disaster, but there are those of us who can switch between classes at a moment’s notice.”

He nodded again, taking a sip of his tea, draining his cup. He set it down, shifting more in his seat to focus on him. Blood rushed up into his cheeks, and he turned to face him as well, the tips of their boots still touching under the table. So far, they were getting on excellent. “So we have our dragons, of all our types, and you have your classgems, in all of yours. I think this will work excellent, from what I have seen so far.”

Minos blushed, and didn’t even bother to hide it. He smiled in return, wide and welcoming as he could manage. “I’m so glad you think so,” he answered, lowering his voice to something softer. “So do I.”

They finished their meal and Rhadamanthys insisted on taking Albafica on a walk through the royal city, citing a proper tour and discussion of things to be shared by crown princes. Minos translated this internally as ‘threaten him until he knows not to hurt me and also see if Rhadamanthys can get a dragon of his own’, but allowed it all the same. He retreated to his room to swoon, dropping onto his bed and hum. Oh, how perfect the day was turning out to be!

They met for dinner as well, the conversation staying light and inquiring about different traditions. Albafica’s kingdom had different spices and he was surprised at the idea of baking potatoes in a stove, but put forth the idea of frying rice in a saucepan with oil and spices in exchange. As much as he wanted to ask all sorts of things, he kept the conversation light and to what he knew his parents wanted to know anyway, allowing them information while also offering Albafica something substantial to take back to his own parents at the end of his visit.

While he was changing to head to bed after quite the day of duties and his betrothed’s existence, he heard a knock at the door. “Come in, but I’m shirtless,” he called absentmindedly to the servant inevitably on the other side of the door, pulling his undershirt over his head. She stepped in, a quiet child of a girl, her eyes wide.

“Your betrothed asked me to give this to you, Your Highness,” she said softly. He turned and in her hands was a bouquet of roses, each thorn clipped back with a careful hand, the petals perfect and the blossoms fragrant. The roses themselves were a dark, deep blue like the depths of the ocean. He gasped, dropping his nightshirt on the bed forgotten, all but charging over to see the blossoms. Albafica had said that Jabberwock was a flower dragon, after all. Impossible blue roses seemed only right and fair. He took the bouquet from her, drawing it into his face to take in their scent.

They had almost a fragrance of lightning to them, like the open skies of blue hour just after the sun had fallen below the horizon. He sighed, collapsing back onto the small sofa at the side of the room, hands tight around the blossoms. He moved to stroke the underside of one of the roses, and his hand caught on something that definitely wasn’t a flower.

He tilted the bouquet, checking what he’d felt, and pulled a slip of parchment from its concealed place within the bouquet.

‘ _Meet me in the garden outside the west wing at midnight,_ ’ it said, in a neat cursive with relatively few flourishes. A practiced hand, meant to be practical and legible. It was signed with a simple ‘A’, and he fell back onto the sofa to lay down properly, unsure if he was just delighted or if his legs actually did lose the ability to support his weight. He sighed, pulling the roses closer to his chin.

“He wants me to meet him in the gardens at midnight,” he said, mostly to the servant. As much as his parents didn’t encourage it, Rhadamanthys had taught him that he would forget the presence of his servants when they murdered him for it, and he’d internalized the lesson before he’d gotten into the habit of pretending they weren’t actually there. If she thought herself his friend, then she was less likely to want him dead. And he did enjoy the company. 

“Is that wise, Highness?” the servant asked, tone deferential but her expression barely-concealed entertainment. She knew as well as he did that he was going, there was no point asking if he planned on listening to his betrothed. “It could be a trap.”

“Anyone trying to kill us would go for Rhadamanthys, and that would be easy with his love for dragons,” Minos declared, waving off her concern. “I’ve been sneaking out and playing games with drunken sailors and probably a few criminals, too. He wouldn’t be going for me if he wanted to disrupt the kingdom, and even if he did, I can handle myself. Besides, I really do want to meet him without a chaperone.”

She was incapable of forcing back her laughter, and started to giggle. “You were flashing far too much skin at the afternoon tea today,” she remarked between giggles. 

He sat up, as dramatic as he could. “He would’ve liked to see my classgem, and I was sparing him the indecency of asking. I’m already going to marry him, he’ll see it all anyway. No point hiding anything.”

She didn’t respond, only giggled more, shaking her head at him. When she was done laughing, she raised her head and took a deep breath, attempting to look professional again. “I can assume you’ll want me to lace you into your vest-corset sometime around eleven, then?” she asked.

A few hours later had him dressed in the aforementioned vest-corset and a blouse unbuttoned to show his classgem, serviceable pants and good, knee-high boot, all hidden underneath a thick, dark cloak. Usually he’d also wear his dragonscale gloves, but considering the circumstances, he doubted that would be a good move. 

He slipped out of his room and down the hall, hoping to slip down the stairs to the gardens. He passed two servants on his way, nodding a silent greeting to both, knowing that neither would betray him: he shared the good snacks with them all far too often for them to sell him out to his parents, especially now that he was likely to calm down a bit with his adventures. If he wanted one last one - even though this was with his betrothed, and not on his own - well, they probably wouldn’t judge him, even if they did think he was acting a bit stupid.

He stepped out of the ground-floor hall into the gardens, vanishing from sight of the castle. Albafica was likely to be by the rose garden, going by his bouquet, and it wasn’t far. It also would likely be visible from the guest chambers. Sure enough, when he turned a corner to the clearing where they held the garden and the fountain, there was his betrothed.

Albafica was a sight for sore eyes indeed, wearing a deep blue waistcoat and a darker blouse underneath, the cloak around his shoulders a darker shade than either one. He turned, smiling softly.

“Good, you saw my note,” he said by way of a greeting, spinning a rose between his fingers. “Now we can get away from the politics enough to have a proper conversation.” He gestured to the spot on the bench beside him, and Minos took it, settling down about a foot away from him.

Minos scanned the gardens around them, eyed one of the castle balconies, and pointed. “There’s guards there, there, and over there. None of the balcony ones are going to be watching the garden, the one by the battlements will be, but he can’t see us where we were. There’ll be servants running through there and there, they’re not likely to bother us, they already know we’re down here. They’re pretty used to me sneaking out at night, and they know I’m just meeting you down here.”

Albafica grinned, his smile less that of a visiting crown prince, and more that of someone who had figured out he was sitting beside someone equally capable of causing trouble. “You sure seem to sneak out a lot, if you know all that,” he commented.

Minos shrugged. “Politics are Rhadamanthys’ job, and I know the sailors better than anyone. Someone needs to keep an eye on things lower than the nobility, and to be quite honest with you, my parents only wanted me married so I’d stop running off and flirting with all the sailors. The only reason they’re not arguing for your sister instead is because you’re he heir to the throne.”

Albafica looked at him, mouth twitching, and abruptly started laughing. “My eldest sister’s here, actually. They sent me and Aco together, because they weren’t sure which one of us you’d want. She was one of the guards, she does a fine job of making everyone think she’s a boy when she wants to. One of the sailors was lamenting not getting to marry you himself and wanted to see - and I am quoting him here - the girl that they were damning you to. So I questioned him and Aco slipped into her uniform, and here we are. We threw your parents for one hell of a loop, didn’t we?”

Minos started to crack up. Albafica’s laughter was infectious, and he wasn’t going to deny, he’d entirely missed that one of the guards was secretly a princess. “I don’t know what’s worse to my poor family, the fact that they tried to marry me off as punishment and accidentally handed me the perfect young man, or the fact that it’s _got_ to be killing Rhadamanthys to know he isn’t the one who gets to marry into a family of dragonriders.”

Albafica sat up a little, evidently a little more serious. “You really think this might work, then? I admit I had my reservations, and I do want to get to know you better, but…?” He trailed off, leaving the question unfinished and open, for whatever question Minos might want to place there, unspoken.

He held out his hands, if his betrothed wanted to take them. They weren’t really allowed to touch each other at all - or even sit this close - at this point in the courtship, but at the moment nobody was watching, so he didn’t care. And he wanted more than anything to know what his hands felt like, to dream of their caress against his skin. Albafica paused, and took them, slipping their fingers together.

“You already betrayed your personality by asking me here tonight, so I can bet you’re as much of a rule-breaker as I am, and you’re not telling me I shouldn’t run off with sailors. Yes, Prince Albafica, I think we really could make this work, if we tried.” He smiled, tightening his grip on the other’s hands. They were smooth, not quite soft as though he never did any physical labour, but smooth enough that he generally wore gloves when he did it. It took everything he had not to press them to his face and kiss his palm, but he managed it all the same. 

Albafica grimaced. “Please, call me Alba like everyone else does. I get we need the formality in front of everyone else, but when it’s just us and Jabs, there’s no need. We’re not going to get very far if we insist on the politics all the time.”

Minos answered by shifting closer to him on the bench, until he leaned over just enough to put his head on Albafica’s shoulder. Albafica smiled down at him, squeezing his hands. “Fair enough, then, Alba-my-love,” he agreed, smiling mischievously when Albafica narrowed his eyes in equal irritation and amusement. “Should I be worried about being third-wheeled by a dragon, or is Jabberwock not going to care that much?”

Albafica’s laughter was short, incredulous, and not at all dignified. “Dragons have been dealing with humans needing to get a room as long as we’ve had them. He’s got his own room in an alcove of mine, and if he doesn’t feel like listening, he can go for a fly without me.” He lifted his chin and gestured to a particularly tall tree. Minos squinted, and indeed, curled up on the lower branches was Jabberwock, who had his back turned to them and his wing over his head. “As for your brother wanting one, I’m sure I can talk to my parents. As for you, though…”

Minos shifted so he could look him in the eye, which had the bonus of allowing him to move closer, adjusting the distance between their seats to about six inches. Far too close than he ever would be allowed before they had a date set for the wedding. It wasn’t close enough, as far as he was concerned. Albafica looked up, as though debating exactly how he was going to say it. “It really depends on succession. My mother isn’t going to let you leave our kingdom with one, but you’re also not heir to the throne. If you end up coming back with me and being my consort back home, then you’ll probably end up with a dragon for a wedding gift, courtesy of the blessing that recognizes you as one of our citizens. But on the other hand, I have not a single problem calling the whole thing off if I think you or any of your family is just trying to use the alliance to lay claim to our dragons. We’ll lend them if you need them and things work out, but they’re still ours.”

He nodded, and squeezed Albafica’s hand before responding. “I honestly don’t think it’ll be like that,” he admitted. “We’ll share our classgems pretty much the same way - you can have some, but we’re not teaching you how to make them. Honestly, Rhadamanthys is just mad that I get to marry a dragonrider and he doesn’t, and we didn’t know you had dragons until you showed up with them. I also didn’t expect to be met with the offer of having one myself until just now. So if it makes you feel more reassured about the whole deal, this was my parents’ idea, I’m in it because I have to, I’m not totally against it because you’re kind of setting my heart in my throat right now - and doesn’t _that_ make it hard to be articulate - and the dragons are really just an unexpected bonus. If my parent start being asses about it, I’ll yell at them until they stop. Does that work out?”

Albafica smiled, and tilted his head to press his cheek against his forehead. “Works for me, and I won’t lie, you’re being very flattering. Not so sure if I can match your excitement right now, and honestly I don’t know about jumping right into anything properly romantic, but I think we can make it work.”

He paused, puzzling through his statement. “You’re going to have to explain that one, I don’t think I quite understand - you did just say you didn’t want the politics between us, so…?”

Albafica sighed, letting go of his hands and leaning forward to rest his forearms on his thighs, grimacing a little. “I’d rather you not judge me too much for this one, because this is a me thing, not a ‘Abyssians are weird’ thing, and I’ve always been like this and it isn’t changing. I don’t really do the whole falling in love at first sight thing. Never have. I can appreciate people, sure, and I enjoy having friends. But I can’t imagine being in love with someone I haven’t known for years. I was kind of hoping Aco would the one for this, because with all the politics, I wouldn’t be able to even get to know anyone I was going to marry well enough to even consider the relationship potentially romantic. I don’t know, I just… Others have this whole fall in love at first sight thing, and I just can’t do it like that.”

Minos listened, trying to understand it in a way he could understand, puzzling through it as an obstacle they could overcome. If they called off the marriage, it might lead to a war. If they didn’t, they’d have to work through it somehow. It wasn’t totally life-or-death, but it was something to think of. “So if I understand you correctly,” he ventured, fidgeting a little with his fingers. “In order to love someone, you’ve got to be friends with them first, and for quite a while, and the politics make that harder, not easier, and our only salvation is that neither of us have any issues with sneaking out to talk like normal people.”

Albafica cracked a smile, tilting his head over his shoulder to look at him. His blue hair framed his face wonderfully, and he couldn’t help but know he’d never feel the same: he was already head-over-heels, and he wasn’t sure how anyone could resist such a fine young man. “Yeah, pretty much. If we can work that out somehow… I don’t know. I want to try, but there’s no rushing it.”

He grinned back. “Good thing we have at least a year to sneak out to hang out, and even better that we’re stuck together for the rest of our lives to figure it out. I admit, I don’t feel the same - I’m already lost, when it comes to you.”

Albafica’s blush was a deep pink. He reached for his hand again, gave it a soft squeeze, and continued. “But we still have as long as we need to figure it out. We can start as friends, get to know each other, and who knows? Maybe we’ll fall in love, maybe we won’t. You can trust that I’m not running off with your sister anytime soon, and honestly? I think it works in your advantage. I could fall in love with a lot of people, and then fall out of love with them just as easily because I didn’t know about half their personality. The way you do it, you’ve got to actually get to know them, and it seems to me like that’s more stable for a kingdom than anything else is.”

He paused. “You think so?”

“Pretty damn sure. So let’s be friends first, and lovers when we decide to be, damned what anyone else says, and if you decide you want to kiss me after all, just be prepared to catch me when I inevitably fall over.” He stood up, pulling Albafica to his feet with him. Sometime during their conversation, the rosebushes had flourished. There had to be twice as many flowers in them now as there had been a few minutes ago, and not all of them spanned the shades of Albafica’s face. Jabberwock’s magic, he was sure.

Albafica met his smile with his own, and his heart began to race. “Sounds like a plan to me. Maybe this won’t be hell on my mind after all. I honestly just hope this works out. I want to be as fair to you as you’re being to me right now, whatever that ends up being.”

He didn’t honestly know how to answer that one, what he actually wanted other than his attention and the friendship he could give for now, so he stepped forward and slipped his arms around Albafica’s shoulders, resting his chin on his left side. Albafica stepped backward a little on reflex, before inhaling and pulling him in a little closer, his arms around Minos’ waist. He closed his eyes, leaning into his betrothed’s embrace. This was good. This was perfect. This was exactly where he wanted to be.

It didn’t last long enough. He heard the commotion inside the same moment Jabberwock did, as the dragon all but pounced from his spot on the branch, landing neatly between the two of them and the castle.

“Jabs, what’s wrong?” Albafica asked. He didn’t have his sword on him, but he knelt to reach down and pulled a dagger out of his boot. Minos placed his hand gently on Albafica’s wrist, laughing inwardly. He knew that reaction better than anything else.

“They noticed we’re missing,” he said softly, loud enough for both of them to hear. “Worst case, I get yelled at and they apologize sincerely for my behaviour in trying to drag you off. Only way you get blamed for this is if I blame you for it, which I’m not going to. But if we want to make a run for it and show up at dawn, they’re not going to be angry.”

“I’m pretty sure they’re going to be pissed that I ran off with you without telling anyone,” Albafica muttered, and his grip on the dagger didn’t release.

Minos sighed. “My parents will be pissed either way, they’re already mad because you’re not your sister. Rhadamanthys and Aiacos will cover for us, they know to only send out anyone to search for me if I’m not home by dawn. Sure, Mother and Father disapprove, but my brothers will give us some time. But if we are going to run, we should go _now_.”

Albafica scanned him over with those beautiful, dark eyes, which in the moonlight, were a beautiful shade of blue. The colour of his waistcoat, the colour of the roses. He could drown in that colour, he was sure. Then he smiled. “Jabs? Time to go for a fly.”

Minos blinked, and Albafica bent and scooped him up into a bridal style carry. Jabberwock backed up until his shoulder was nicely aligned with Albafica’s thigh, and he climbed on, legs settled just behind his wings. “You may want to hold on tight, Minos. We’re riding bareback, and that means we don’t get reins to hold onto.” He set him down just in front of him and he wrapped his arms tightly around Albafica’s neck. Jabberwork spread his wings. Albafica reached forward to grip the dragon’s mane, a smug smile playing on his lips.

It took everything he had not to kiss him, but he resisted. A servant, flanked by two guards, ran into the clearing and froze. He glanced over, pressing his temple into Albafica’s chest as casually as if they’d walked in on his fencing practice. “We’ll be back by dawn I’m sure, just out for a night without politics,” he said, amiably as he could, like this was the most normal thing in the world. “Tell Rara I’m not sorry, and if he’s mad, that’s not my problem.”

Albafica cracked a smile. Jabberwock let out a snort of some emotion he didn’t quite know, and kicked off. They shot into the air, faster than he’d ever gone before, and the ground was suddenly so far below them.

The world was all but moonlight and clouds around them, and he could brush them out of the way with a sweep of his hand if he felt like it. Their cloaks waved in the breeze but didn’t seem to tug, and all the stars of the night were out. He looked up at Albafica, whose eyes were focused on scanning the sky around them for anything dangerous.

“Hey, Alba,” he began. Some things he knew he would need to ask first, every time, and if it meant they didn’t fall out of the sky because he startled him, that was a bonus. At the very least, his stomach had properly joined him in the air, rather than being left on the ground. And his heart was still racing, fast enough he’d stopped noticing it a few hours prior. At least he still had enough breath to at least try to ask with some sort of grace. Albafica looked over at him for just a moment, still half-concentrating on the sky.

“Yeah?”

“I know we’re friends first, and that’ll be an adventure, but I’ve also still got my heart in my throat over you right now. Just this once, until we can discuss it later proper, can I kiss you?”

Albafica glanced over at him again, this time for longer, one eyebrow raised. But then he smiled the smile Minos couldn’t resist now, and knew he’d never be able to resist, even thirty years into their marriage. “For the man I just technically kidnapped, who’s doing his best to make this less of a nightmare for both of us? Anything.”

A hand slipped to the small of his back and pulled him in, and he pulled a hand back from around Albafica’s neck to caress his cheek. Those soft lips that he hadn’t quite stopped staring at all day met his, and they felt like rosepetals against his own, and he was sure. Here, atop a dragon and bathed in moonlight, they’d be just fine.


End file.
